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A Linden-McKinley STEM Academy student testified yesterday that he saw 15-year-old Jesean M.
Callender fire a gun from behind a South Linden duplex and toward a group of students, one of whom
died from a bullet in his chest.

Based on the testimony, a Franklin County Juvenile Court judge found probable cause that
Callender committed delinquency murder, the first step in an effort by prosecutors to transfer his
case to adult court.

Judge Terri Jamison set a hearing for June 18 to determine whether Callender could be
rehabilitated in the juvenile system or should be tried as an adult in the death of 15-year-old
Kaewaun Coleman.

Callender is accused of firing the fatal shot, and 17-year-old Shyquan D. Washington, who is
accused of supplying Callender with the gun, is charged with delinquency murder. Jamison found
Washington incompetent to stand trial on April 30 and placed him in a residential treatment center
for counseling aimed at making him competent.

The 16-year-old witness, whom
The Dispatch is not identifying in the interest of his safety, , said the incident grew
out of a discussion between rival gang members behind Linden-McKinley at the end of the school day
on Jan. 17. The witness said he was standing with a group of students that included Coleman, whom
he identified as a member of the Squad gang, when a member of the PTSQ gang approached and said he
wanted to fight one of Coleman’s friends.

He said the youth was accompanied by three other members of PTSQ, including Callender and
Washington.

As Coleman was calling the friend on his cellphone, he and a large group of students began
walking east on Duxberry Avenue toward the McDonald’s restaurant at 2055 Cleveland Ave. The group
gathered beside the restaurant’s parking lot in an alley between Duxberry and E. 26th avenues.

The witness said he saw Washington take a gun from his coat and hand it to Callender as they
walked behind a nearby duplex on E. 26th Avenue. Coleman’s friend, a fellow Squad member, was
coming down the alley toward the group of students when Callender fired “at least five or six”
shots, the witness testified.

Coleman staggered from the alley to the parking lot, where he collapsed. He died about 20
minutes later in Ohio State University’s Wexner Medical Center.

The witness was the only person called to testify by Assistant Prosecutor Dennis Hogan. Defense
attorney Sean Boyle cross-examined the youth about how clearly he could see the incident but didn’t
call any of his own witnesses.

Jamison denied a request by
The Dispatch to photograph Callender during the hearing, upholding an objection by the
defense. With a half-dozen deputies in the courtroom to head off any gang issues, the judge
expressed concern about Callender’s safety.

“The potential for harm outweighs the benefits of public access,” she said.